‖ paraphysis Bot.
(pəˈræfɪsɪs)
Also ˈparaphyse. Pl. -physes.
[mod.L., f. Gr. παρα- para-1 1, in sense ‘by-’ or ‘subsidiary’ + ϕύσις growth; so F. paraphyse.]
A sterile filament accompanying the reproductive organs in certain cryptogams.
| 1857 Berkeley Cryptog. Bot. 270 Abortive asci, known under the name of paraphyses. 1858 Carpenter Veg. Phys. §759 Among the spore-cases lie sterile filaments, termed paraphyses, which serve to bind them together. 1870 Bentley Man. Bot. (ed. 2) 367 Among the antheridia there are..found slender cellular jointed threads called paraphyses. |
Hence paraphysate (pəˈræfɪsət) a., having or producing paraphyses (Cent. Dict. 1890); paraphyˈsiferous, bearing paraphyses (Mayne 1857).